Have you ever taken it easy on an opponent for any reason? I play my dad quite a bit and I take it easy on him, but the way he is, it's like he forgets that tennis is a competition. I mean yes it's about having a good time, but I don't think anyone plays a game or a set and doesn't try to win. But do you guys ever play anyone where you take it easy on them?

Here are some examples for me...I never intentional lob or drop shot. If I hit a short ball and it forces him to come to net, I'll usually give him a very easy shot to volley next. It's like I'm giving him an IOU...I hit the ball short, now he has to come to net and instead of me passing him I'll give him a slow kind of high ball that a 114 year old could put away...I'm not actually doing it so he can hit a winner, but just doing it so we can continue the rally and he can make his way back to the baseline.

If I ever get the feeling I'm going to end up hitting a short ball...sometimes I can just sense my shot is going to be short, so I purposely try to hit the ball deep FOR HIM and often times hit the ball out. I mean hey it's my fault, but I'm changing what my natural swing was so that I can make it easier on him.

I was killing his serve for awhile just by nailing returns to his feet with good pace...he says as soon as he finishes serving the ball is back at his feet so I'm now trying to hit deep but I'm not putting the pace on I was before. When I hit deep on purpose, it's because my dad has a hard time getting to short balls so I want to make sure they're back easy for him.

Ok I don't want to bore you with anymore details so I'll just leave it at this for now. I think my dad looks to be in pretty good shape, he's in his mid 50's and we've both been playing for only a couple of years but he complains about EVERYTHING and it can take its toll mentally.

Galactus

09-26-2005, 03:25 AM

Have you ever taken it easy on an opponent for any reason? I play my dad quite a bit and I take it easy on him, but the way he is, it's like he forgets that tennis is a competition. I mean yes it's about having a good time, but I don't think anyone plays a game or a set and doesn't try to win. But do you guys ever play anyone where you take it easy on them?
Yes - one of my buddies who I played during the summer kind of got all p!ssed off with me cos he reckoned I was 'too competitive' in our games....then I said to him, 'what do you expect - we just hit a few balls for two hours but don't keep score?'.

Amazingly, he replied with a 'Yeah' to that - so I dropped him as a potential opponent and havent played him since. :mrgreen:

CivicLx

09-26-2005, 03:27 AM

oh actually I should say that I do go for winners...I don't take it super easy on him, but often times I do try and make it easier...like ok sorry I said no more details but here's another thing...today we were in a rally and I was probably in the middle of the court or a little bit in the ad court and I nailed a pretty good shot to I believe his bh...so then my next shot is another shot with good pace to his bh...he hadn't really moved back to the middle so he was able to turn around and get it...so now my 3rd shot I take from about the same place...between middle of court and ad court and I decide to go down the line on his fh side...well this is now a little bit harder for me only because I have about 3 or 4 feet of court to hit into so I let up on the ball...he ran from his bh side and couldn't get to it so it's a winner...he complained that I hit it short on purpose after pinning his about "6 or 7 feet behind the baseline" when really I just wasn't as confident when I hit to his bh.

CivicLx

09-26-2005, 03:36 AM

Galactus-unfortunately I don't play tennis with a whole bunch of people and I think if I did tell him I wanted to stop playing him, he would get upset.

Man I could go on for days, and I'm afraid I might, but here's another example...he serves into my body and I end up hitting the ball short on ACCIDENT...he may not be quick enough to put the shot away when I know you youngins would kill my short return...understood...but when that happens he normally says "too good a serve"...way to pat yourself on the back :rolleyes: but when I serve into his body and he hits short, he doesn't say "too good a serve" he makes the excuse that it was a serve into his body and that's the best he could do...I mean fair enough and that's understood but really the thing that bugs me so much is that he complains about everything and I don't complain about anything hardly...I do get more irritated now because he does complain though and then he does the same stuff he complains about...example I hit the ball short and he complains and says s*** like "you just love those drop shots" but when he hits the ball short, he either makes an excuse or doesn't say a damn thing...

I should have just put this in the R&R section...sorry guys but it's so frustrating at times :(

Clayplay

09-27-2005, 02:55 AM

yes, i go easy on my dad aswell. when i verse him, i hit the ball much weaker than i normally do and i try to go for rallys. i sometimes even feed it "short" to him, but it isn't like a drop shot, i do it purposely because i want to give him the chance to hit a winner.

Koaske

09-27-2005, 06:11 AM

I try to play risky game when playing against weaker opponents. I try to work on the weakest parts of my game.

PM_

09-27-2005, 10:45 AM

The only person I take it easy on is my lady. (and that's on the court 8))

Fumoffu

09-27-2005, 09:18 PM

Sort of. I'll practice my weaker wing when I'm versing someone I'm confident I can beat ie if my backhand is weaker so I'll run around the forehand and hit more backhands so I can practice

Fedubai

09-28-2005, 05:35 AM

There is such a thing as playing tennis just for fun. One of my friends is a beginner tennis player and of course I take it easy on her. We're just out to have fun, and I'm not trying to show off my skills. Against a different opponent I'll fight to win and play the best I can, but not against a player that's not at the same skill level when we're just playing for fun. You just have to agree about how you're going to play. Even with two equally skilled players, you'd play differently if you're just out to have fun with a buddy. Just ask him or her how competitive they want the matches/practice sessions to be.

joe sch

09-28-2005, 07:55 AM

I believe if your can easily beat some player then once you get your lead, start working on other aspects of your game that you need to gain match play confidence. Ofcourse, you first need to work on these skills in practice. Case in point : Agressive, attacking, allcourt SV tennis. Most modern players need more match experience using these skills. Roddick is now try to add these skills into his matchplay in hopes of beating Federer in the future ...

Geezer Guy

09-29-2005, 10:49 AM

Civic, Maybe you and your dad should just rally the ball. You can get a good workout and really groove your strokes without keeping score and playing a match. This will be good for your game, also, and maybe pops won't get so worked up if there's no scoring involved. Just practice your strokes, hitting TOO him, as you would when you're warming up with an opponent before a match. After doing that for awhile (if it goes OK) then you can start playing out points and going for winners - but again, don't keep score. just a thought, FWIW.

spirit

09-29-2005, 11:55 AM

Civic, Maybe you and your dad should just rally the ball. You can get a good workout and really groove your strokes without keeping score and playing a match. This will be good for your game, also, and maybe pops won't get so worked up if there's no scoring involved. Just practice your strokes, hitting TOO him, as you would when you're warming up with an opponent before a match. After doing that for awhile (if it goes OK) then you can start playing out points and going for winners - but again, don't keep score. just a thought, FWIW.

Good point. I do this with my wife. There is no way that we can play a competitive match given the skill differential, and if I were to play to win, I would never get her out on the court so I could watch her beautiful flat one handed backhand stroke that she has (can't get her to her to try to swing more from low to high on that backhand).

So I don't play tennis against her. I hit tennis balls with her. Actually, I use the opportunity to practice my accuracy. My goal is to hit to her as close to her "hitting alley" as possible. She gets to hit many more balls over the net that way, and I get to practice my accuracy. If I don't hit to her groove, then I have missed my shot. She also sprays balls all over the court, so I get to practice my footwork and I get a good workout.

FiveO

09-29-2005, 12:34 PM

During a lesson, working with players of lower level or in practice when drilling one element: Yes.

During match play (practice match or competiton): Never. It defeats the purpose of practice matches for both players. To do so in competition is not only bad for one's own game, it's insulting to the opponent.